Estimated restocking times

It looked at 51 out of 150 commercial fish stocks, including hake, mackerel, whiting and Icelandic cod.

Most, it said, could be restored to sustainable levels within five years, with some varieties such as certain mackerel and herring needing less than a year.

However, some stocks of cod and halibut would take at least nine years to replenish, the Nef report found.

The think tank calculated that private investment of £9.16bn (11.4bn euros; $14.7bn) to manage the fishing freeze would generate profit of £4.43bn by 2023. "By 2052, the returns are £14 for every £1 invested," it said.

The investment would ensure "zero unemployment" among fishermen and would guard against depreciation of their vessels, the Nef argued.

'No sense'

In a recent report, Commissioner Damanaki found that overfishing in the North-East Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea had been reduced from 72% in 2010 to 47% in 2012.

“Start Quote

Claims that we are progressing towards sustainable fishing are the equivalent of saying that instead of driving a car over a cliff at 100mph we are driving it at 90mph”

End QuoteAniol EstebanCo-author of Nef report

The number of stocks being fished sustainably had risen from 13 to 19, she said.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday, Barry Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO), argued there was no need for the freeze proposed by the Nef.

"I don't think it makes sense at any level: biological, economic or political," he said.

"On the whole, we are already moving towards maximum sustainable yields so why would it make sense to spend these huge amounts of money?"

A freeze on fishing would result in a degeneration of infrastructure and a loss of markets, he said. When the herring industry in the North Sea was closed in the 1970s, he pointed out, "a whole generation lost the art of cooking and eating herring".

Aniol Esteban, who co-authored the Nef report, told the BBC News website that to say Europe was progressing towards sustainable fishing was akin to saying "that instead of driving a car over a cliff at 100mph we are driving it at 90mph".

"Overfishing is not being tackled for the majority of affected stocks, or at a fast enough pace," he added, stressing that the Nef idea would actually boost the fishing industry in the long term.

Asked by the BBC if imports of fish from outside Europe would not have to rise unsustainably as a result of the freeze, he said the alternative to increasing imports was to reduce fish consumption by a fifth until stocks were rebuilt.

Comments

Comment number 103.

Mr_Happy_2314th September 2012 - 13:34

This is not really workable idea. But as other have stated.- A proper quota system to stop good fish being dumped Designated and policed no fish zones, that could be policed by ex-fisherman (they know the tricks people get upto)- Factory ships banned in EU waters.There of lots of simple ideas that can help rather than the 5 year freez

Comment number 102.

MKMAT14th September 2012 - 13:33

Same story again. Very good idea. Nothing will happen though until its too late. Fishermen cannot afford to stop working, shops do not want to lose short term profit in selling and governments will not ban fishing. End result will be no fish, no fishing industry and alot of political "I told you so".

Comment number 100.

xyriachComment number 100 is an Editors' Pick14th September 2012 - 13:27

If the analysis proves to be correct and a lot of further research is conducted to confirm this, then provided that the governments are willing to fully subsidise fishermen for additional costs through having to obtain alternative food sources and lost income at an agreeable rate, then it's obvious to impose a freeze and then manage future harvests.

Comment number 98.

CommentatorComment number 98 is an Editors' Pick14th September 2012 - 13:27

So let me get this right .... now that the Russians, Spanish and French have over fished the stocks they want to give it a rest for five years and get paid to do nothing before starting the cycle all over again?

Comment number 93.

leeberle14th September 2012 - 12:48

I also have fish when I dine out but over the last dozen or more years I noticed many species are not available anymore and many establishments are just feed us bait fish. It is about time the world stop pillaging the oceans with huge ship and vast fleets and let the balance come back to noramal before it is too late.The world should study how the Great Lakes have evolved and take note.

Comment number 91.

Tolvir14th September 2012 - 13:20

This is not something we need worry ourselves about. The human race will be killed off by natural selection. Think of bacteria in a petri dish, all the time there is food and space the bacterium thrive and their population growth is exponential as the food supply and space is reduced the population peaks and then declines at a similar rate. We are running out of space and food, our fate is sealed.

Comment number 88.

Little_Old_MeComment number 88 is an Editors' Pick14th September 2012 - 13:17

This is not an issue about who does the fishing, but how the fishing is done - ban factory sized trawlers hoovering all the fish out of the seas & instead go back to small trawlers fishing with lines......

Comment number 87.

wobblycogsComment number 87 is an Editors' Pick14th September 2012 - 13:17

Sadly I think this is probably the only way we will be able to manage the fish population. Never has the tragedy of the commons been so clearly played out than in the seas of Europe. Not only do we have to stop fishing for a while we also need to put in place measures to strictly police the fishing that is done once we have replenished stocks. It won't happen, politicians don't care about fish.

Comment number 85.

RoyalswithCheese14th September 2012 - 13:14

Fish should be left alone, years of raping the oceans has led to an unbelievable reduction of fish. Fisherman are some of the most arrogance and selfish people on the planet and if left to them would have plundered the last fish long ago. I actually find the taste of fish vile and cant believe so many people enjoy eating it. Definatley ban shark finning though, cruelest type of fishing there is.

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